Goalie Training,
Built By Goalies.
Crease Coach exists to give lacrosse goalies the position-specific coaching they rarely get.
The Mission
Goalie is the hardest position in lacrosse and the least coached. Most goalies learn by standing in a cage while everyone else gets trained.
Crease Coach was built to change that in Southern California. Goalie-specific sessions. Coaches who played the position at the highest levels. A clear path from a goalie's first save to elite high school play and beyond.
Why Goalie-Specific Training Matters
Goalies do not need more shooting drills happening around them. They need coaching on the things that actually decide saves: mechanics, footwork, arc movement, tracking, clearing, and communication.
They also need reps. Real, coached, high-quality reps. That is what every Crease Coach session is designed to deliver.
Johnny's Vision
Johnny Rodriguez started Crease Coach in 2013 for a simple reason: goalies deserve better. The position decides games, and yet most goalies learn it alone, standing in a cage while everyone else gets coached. Johnny built Crease Coach to change that. Real, position-specific development from goalies who played at the highest levels. More quality reps in one session than most goalies see in a month. And a place where the hardest job on the field is understood, coached, and celebrated.
Johnny captained Salisbury University's 2011 National Championship team, was named the 2011 Goalie of the Year, and went on to an eight-year professional career in the MLL and on the LXM Pro Tour.
He moved to Southern California in 2012 to help grow the game: coaching at La Costa Canyon, leading Trabuco Hills, and then spending ten years as head coach at Mater Dei High School, where he took a 0 and 18 program to multiple national Top-25 rankings and the No. 1 spot in the West Region in 2022 and 2023. He still coaches as an assistant at Mater Dei and runs a recreational program introducing lacrosse to kids in his hometown of Costa Mesa.
Every session we run today still carries his fingerprints: high reps, honest coaching, and goalies training with people who love the position as much as they do.
Away from the field, Johnny enjoys life with his wife, Cristina, and their three children: Jett, Cruz, and Hope.
Standing With Johnny
In 2023, Johnny was diagnosed with ALS. He battles the disease every day through treatment, physical therapy, and the faith that stays central to his strength and outlook. And true to form, he turned the fight outward: Johnny is an active advocate in the ALS community, raising awareness and pushing progress toward a cure.
If Crease Coach or Johnny's coaching has meant something to your family, consider supporting the organizations he works with:
From The Crease To The Coach
In 2026, Nick Washuta took over Crease Coach to carry that mission forward. Nick has played goalie at every level of the sport: four-year starter and All-American at the University of Vermont, 2018 NCAA save percentage leader, 11th overall pick in the 2020 MLL Draft, and now a back-to-back PLL Champion with the Utah Archers.
Nick is no stranger to the coaching side either. He coaches at Torrey Pines and has sent boys and girls goalies on to Division I lacrosse and everything in between.
The plan from here is simple: grow Crease Coach, build an army of amazing goalies, and have fun doing it. The goalies who develop fastest are the ones who get real, position-specific coaching, and that is exactly what every Crease Coach session delivers.
How We Coach
Goalies improve by seeing shots. Every session is built for volume with purpose.
Clear feedback, specific fixes, no fluff.
Confidence is not a pep talk. It is what happens when a goalie knows their mechanics hold up under pressure.
Goalies training with goalies, pushed by people who understand the position.
Southern California Is Home
We train goalies across San Diego and Orange County, with more SoCal locations on the way. Youth, middle school, and high school. Beginners to varsity starters. If your goalie wants to get better, there is a place for them here.